EP0325402A2 - Apparatus for feeding boards from the base of the stack - Google Patents
Apparatus for feeding boards from the base of the stack Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP0325402A2 EP0325402A2 EP89300390A EP89300390A EP0325402A2 EP 0325402 A2 EP0325402 A2 EP 0325402A2 EP 89300390 A EP89300390 A EP 89300390A EP 89300390 A EP89300390 A EP 89300390A EP 0325402 A2 EP0325402 A2 EP 0325402A2
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- conveying
- stack
- board
- members
- straps
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
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Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H3/00—Separating articles from piles
- B65H3/08—Separating articles from piles using pneumatic force
- B65H3/12—Suction bands, belts, or tables moving relatively to the pile
- B65H3/124—Suction bands or belts
- B65H3/126—Suction bands or belts separating from the bottom of pile
Definitions
- THIS INVENTION concerns apparatus for feeding boards sequentially in one direction from the base of a stack.
- the apparatus must be capable of feeding single sheets, one at a time, accurately and without slip into the nip of a pair of feed rolls, for example, in corrugated board handling machinery such as printer slotters, casemakers and rotary die cutters.
- a particular difficulty in feeding boards of corrugated paper is that some boards will be warped and so will not necessarily be in contact with the conveying members across the entire width of the board.
- the object of the present invention is to provide apparatus for feeding boards form the base of a stack, wherein the aforementioned difficulties are overcome, and to minimise the manufacturing and running costs of such apparatus.
- apparatus for feeding boards sequentially in one direction from the base of a stack through a feed gate at the base of a front stack retaining wall comprises a transverse series of spaced stack supporting members, a transverse series of spaced parallel conveying members interposed between the supporting members and having conveying surfaces, drive means for advancing and retracting the conveying members in a reciprocating manner, further drive means for raising and lowering the supporting members with respect to the conveying members in a reciprocating manner, the two drive means being synchronised such that the supporting members are sequentially lowered to permit the lowermost board of the stack to be advanced by the conveying members, and then raised to support the stack above the conveying members during retraction of same, and means to apply suction through or past the conveying members to ensure that the board is gripped by the conveying surfaces thereof during feed.
- Fig. 1 there can be seen a stack of boards 10 from which individual boards are to be fed sequentially through a feed gate 11 at the base of a front wall 12 of a stack retaining hopper.
- a transverse series of spaced stack supporting members or board lifters 13 support the entire stack in a stationary condition.
- the straps 14 have spaced perforations 16 and are disposed, together with the pulleys 15, in an upper region of a suction box 17 from which air is drawn through an outlet at the bottom.
- Two rows of pulleys 15 are mounted for rotation on shafts 18 each driven by a gear 19 which meshes with a common gear 20.
- the gear 20 is driven to and fro in a reciprocating manner by a four bar linkage consisting of pivotally connected links 21 and 22 and a crank disc 23 driven in rotation as indicated by arrow 24 by a main motor driven shaft 25 (see Fig. 3).
- the board lifters 13 are caused to descend thus to bring the lowermost board of the stack 10 into contact with the conveying straps 14.
- the four bar linkage ensures that the straps 14 accelerate the board to the required speed before retracting, the liftes 13 being raised as soon as a board is fully advanced through the gate 11, to support the stack during retraction of the straps 14.
- the follower is mounted on a lever 32 which is keyed onto a shaft 33.
- Cam follower 31 is held in close contact with the surface of cam 29 by means of a link 34 which passes through a bearing member 35 and carries a compression spring 36 tending to force link 34 towards the lower end of Fig. 2.
- FIG. 4 in which can be seen the conveying straps 14 and board lifters 13, there is also shown shaft 33 which carries a number of lifter cams 37.
- each board lifter 13 there are a pair of lifting pins 38 which are mounted in spaced relationship on a yoke 39 carrying a cam follower 40 which seves to lift the yoke 39, pins 38 and board lifters 13. It is the small rotation of lifter camshaft 33 via lifter cams 37 which causes the board lifters 13 to be raised sufficiently with respect to the surfaces of conveying straps 14 to support the stack of boards above them. The period during which the lifters 13 are raised is determined by the length of the depression 30 in rotating cam 29 and the speed of shaft 28 as determined by the ratio of gears 26 and 27.
- the entire assembly as described is placed in front of a pair of driven feed rolls 40 delivering boards to a machine such as a printer slotter, casemaker or rotary die cutter.
- the drive assemblies are synchronised such that the board lifters 13 drop the lowermost board onto the conveyor straps 14 at the moment when the latter commence their forwards stroke. Suction is applied through the apertures 16 to hold the entire width of the board down onto the combined conveying surfaces of the straps 14. the four bar linkage ensures that the board is accelerated by the straps as it passes through the gate 11, to the delivery speed determined by rotation of the feed rolls 40. As soon as the board is taken up by the nip of rolls 40 the board lifters 13 are raised once again to lift the stack clear of the straps 14 to enable them to be retracted by the drive system. During the forwards stroke of the straps 14 the apertures 16 are gradually blanked off by passing onto the surface of pulleys 15 such that no further suction is applied once the board is under the influence of feed rolls 40.
- each strap 14 is preferably slightly greater than that of each adjacent board lifter 13.
- the straps 14 are of synthetic rubber whilst the upper surfaces of board lifters 13 may be of metal or a rigid plastics material.
- the cam and follower arrangement for raising and lowering the lifting bars may be replaced by a series of pivotal links connecting the lifting bars directly to the reciprocating shaft.
- the mechanism is capable of feeding boards at a rate of 170 per minute or more.
Abstract
Apparatus for feeding boards (10) sequentially in one direction from the base of the stack through a feed gate (11) at the base of a front stack retaining wall (12) comprising a transverse series of perforated reciprocating conveying straps (14) mounted on driven pulleys (15) and interposed between a transverse series of lifting bars (13) with a drive mechanism for lowering and raising the lifting bars (13) sequentially and in synchronisation with forwards and rearwards movement respectively of the conveying straps (14). A suction box (17) causes the lowermost board to be held in frictional driving contact with the upper surfaces of conveying straps (14) as the board is conveyed forwards into the nip of a pair of feed rolls (40) of, for example, corrugated board handling machinery.
Description
- THIS INVENTION concerns apparatus for feeding boards sequentially in one direction from the base of a stack. The apparatus must be capable of feeding single sheets, one at a time, accurately and without slip into the nip of a pair of feed rolls, for example, in corrugated board handling machinery such as printer slotters, casemakers and rotary die cutters.
- Many devices have been proposed for positively feeding boards, using, for example, high friction feed wheels, rollers or endless belts, and the grip of the conveying surface on the boards has been assisted by holddown vacuum applied beneath the conveyors.
- Such systems are prone to slip between the contacting surfaces of teh conveyors and the boards which leads to rapid wear of the conveying surfaces, and in the case of wheels there is only line contact with the board so that such wear is rapidly encountered.
- A particular difficulty in feeding boards of corrugated paper is that some boards will be warped and so will not necessarily be in contact with the conveying members across the entire width of the board.
- The object of the present invention is to provide apparatus for feeding boards form the base of a stack, wherein the aforementioned difficulties are overcome, and to minimise the manufacturing and running costs of such apparatus.
- According to the present invention, apparatus for feeding boards sequentially in one direction from the base of a stack through a feed gate at the base of a front stack retaining wall, comprises a transverse series of spaced stack supporting members, a transverse series of spaced parallel conveying members interposed between the supporting members and having conveying surfaces, drive means for advancing and retracting the conveying members in a reciprocating manner, further drive means for raising and lowering the supporting members with respect to the conveying members in a reciprocating manner, the two drive means being synchronised such that the supporting members are sequentially lowered to permit the lowermost board of the stack to be advanced by the conveying members, and then raised to support the stack above the conveying members during retraction of same, and means to apply suction through or past the conveying members to ensure that the board is gripped by the conveying surfaces thereof during feed.
- An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:-
- Fig. 1 is a schematic side view of apparatus made in accordance with the invention;
- Fig. 2 is a view from the opposite side of the apparatus;
- Fig. 3 is a front end view of the apparatus with parts removed for the sake of illustration;
- Fig. 4 is a similar view showing some of the parts removed from Fig. 3;
- and Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken along line V-V of Fig. 4.
- Referring now to the drawings, in Fig. 1 there can be seen a stack of
boards 10 from which individual boards are to be fed sequentially through afeed gate 11 at the base of afront wall 12 of a stack retaining hopper. A transverse series of spaced stack supporting members orboard lifters 13 support the entire stack in a stationary condition. - Between the spaced
parallel board lifters 13 are a plurality of non-continuous straps orbelts 14 with their ends attached respectively to the surfaces of tworotatable pulleys 15 so that the straps can spool between them. Thestraps 14 have spacedperforations 16 and are disposed, together with thepulleys 15, in an upper region of asuction box 17 from which air is drawn through an outlet at the bottom. - Two rows of
pulleys 15 are mounted for rotation onshafts 18 each driven by agear 19 which meshes with acommon gear 20. Thegear 20 is driven to and fro in a reciprocating manner by a four bar linkage consisting of pivotally connectedlinks crank disc 23 driven in rotation as indicated byarrow 24 by a main motor driven shaft 25 (see Fig. 3). - Thus, as
shaft 25 anddisc 23 are driven continuously in one direction the conveyingstraps 14 are repeatedly advanced from right to left in Fig. 1 and then retracted to the position shown. - As will be described, during this action the
board lifters 13 are caused to descend thus to bring the lowermost board of thestack 10 into contact with the conveyingstraps 14. The four bar linkage ensures that thestraps 14 accelerate the board to the required speed before retracting, theliftes 13 being raised as soon as a board is fully advanced through thegate 11, to support the stack during retraction of thestraps 14. - As each board is advanced through the gate, it is held down in close contact with all of the
straps 14 by the suction applied. - Referring now to Figs. 2 and 3 where like parts are denoted by like reference numerals, the
shaft 25, viagears cam shaft 28 on which is fixed acam 29 which, as can be seen in Fig. 2, presents ashort depression 30 into which, during rotation of camshaft 28 acam follower 31 descends. The follower is mounted on alever 32 which is keyed onto ashaft 33.Cam follower 31 is held in close contact with the surface ofcam 29 by means of alink 34 which passes through abearing member 35 and carries acompression spring 36 tending to forcelink 34 towards the lower end of Fig. 2. - Therefore, as
follower 31 descends intodepression 30 oncam 29, the effect ofcompression spring 36 is to causelink 32 and thusshaft 33 to rotate by a small degree in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2. - Referring now to Fig. 4 in which can be seen the conveying
straps 14 andboard lifters 13, there is also shownshaft 33 which carries a number oflifter cams 37. - Associated with each
board lifter 13 there are a pair oflifting pins 38 which are mounted in spaced relationship on ayoke 39 carrying acam follower 40 which seves to lift theyoke 39,pins 38 andboard lifters 13. It is the small rotation oflifter camshaft 33 vialifter cams 37 which causes theboard lifters 13 to be raised sufficiently with respect to the surfaces of conveyingstraps 14 to support the stack of boards above them. The period during which thelifters 13 are raised is determined by the length of thedepression 30 in rotatingcam 29 and the speed ofshaft 28 as determined by the ratio ofgears - In a practical embodiment, the entire assembly as described is placed in front of a pair of driven
feed rolls 40 delivering boards to a machine such as a printer slotter, casemaker or rotary die cutter. - The sequence of operation of the apparatus to feed the boards from the
stack 10 into the nip of thefeed rolls 40 commences with the parts positioned as shown in Fig. 1. - The drive assemblies are synchronised such that the
board lifters 13 drop the lowermost board onto theconveyor straps 14 at the moment when the latter commence their forwards stroke. Suction is applied through theapertures 16 to hold the entire width of the board down onto the combined conveying surfaces of thestraps 14. the four bar linkage ensures that the board is accelerated by the straps as it passes through thegate 11, to the delivery speed determined by rotation of thefeed rolls 40. As soon as the board is taken up by the nip ofrolls 40 theboard lifters 13 are raised once again to lift the stack clear of thestraps 14 to enable them to be retracted by the drive system. During the forwards stroke of thestraps 14 theapertures 16 are gradually blanked off by passing onto the surface ofpulleys 15 such that no further suction is applied once the board is under the influence offeed rolls 40. - As can be seen in Fig. 4, the width of each
strap 14 is preferably slightly greater than that of eachadjacent board lifter 13. Preferably, thestraps 14 are of synthetic rubber whilst the upper surfaces ofboard lifters 13 may be of metal or a rigid plastics material. - The cam and follower arrangement for raising and lowering the lifting bars may be replaced by a series of pivotal links connecting the lifting bars directly to the reciprocating shaft.
- The mechanism is capable of feeding boards at a rate of 170 per minute or more.
Claims (11)
1. Apparatus for feeding boards sequentially in one direction from the base of a stack through a feed gate at the base of a front stack retaining wall comprises a transverse series of spaced stack supporting members, a transverse series of spaced parallel conveying members interposed between the supporting members and having conveying surfaces, drive means for advancing and retracting the conveying members in a reciprocating manner, further drive means for raising and lowering the supporting members with respect to the conveying members in a reciprocating manner, the two drive means being synchronised such that the supporting members are sequentially lowered to permit the lowermost board of the stack to be advanced by the conveying members, and then raised to support the stack above the conveying members during retraction of same, and means to apply suction through or past the conveying members to ensure that the board is gripped by the conveying surfaces thereof during feed.
2. Apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein each said conveying member comprises a non-continuous strap or belt having its opposite ends attached respectively to the surfaces of two pulleys such that the straps can spool between them.
3. Apparatus according to Claim 2, wherein the conveying straps have spaced perforations and are disposed, together with the pulleys, in an upper region of a suction box.
4. Apparatus according to Claim 2 or Claim 3, wherein said pulleys are disposed in two rows mounted for rotation on a pair of parallel shafts driven by means adapted to accelerate the straps in one direction to a predetermined conveying speed.
5. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the further drive means for raising and lowering the supporting members comprises a reciprocating shaft carrying means attached to each of a series of stack lifting bars, further means being provided to determine the timing and duration of lift of the lifting bars in relation to movement of the conveying members.
6. Apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein sychronisation of the two drive means is so arranged that the supporting members descend to deposit the lowermost board onto the conveying members at the moment when the latter commence a forwards movement, and rise to support the next succeeding board of the stack as soon as the previous board is fully advanced through said feed gate whereupon the conveying members are retracted.
7. Apparatus according to Claim 3, wherein during forwards movement of the conveying straps the perforations therein are progressively blanked off by passing on to the surfaces of the pulleys, thus progressively reducing the suction applied to a board as it is conveyed forwardly.
8. Apparatus according to any one of Claims 2 to 4 or Claim 7, wherein the conveying straps are of a synthetic rubber, and the upper surfaces of the board lifters are of metal or of a rigid plastics material.
9. Apparatus according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the width of each conveying member is greater than each of the interposed stack supporting members.
10. Apparatus according to any preceding Claim wherein the speed of operation of the two drive means is such that boards may be fed at a rate of 170 per minute or more.
11. Apparatus for feeding boards sequentially in one direction from the base of the stack, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB888801100A GB8801100D0 (en) | 1988-01-19 | 1988-01-19 | Apparatus for feeding boards from base of stack |
GB8801100 | 1988-01-19 |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP0325402A2 true EP0325402A2 (en) | 1989-07-26 |
EP0325402A3 EP0325402A3 (en) | 1991-01-09 |
Family
ID=10630175
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP19890300390 Withdrawn EP0325402A3 (en) | 1988-01-19 | 1989-01-17 | Apparatus for feeding boards from the base of the stack |
Country Status (3)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US4981223A (en) |
EP (1) | EP0325402A3 (en) |
GB (2) | GB8801100D0 (en) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
CN108788884A (en) * | 2017-04-26 | 2018-11-13 | 豪迈股份公司 | Equipment for cutting workpiece |
Families Citing this family (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB2276871B (en) * | 1993-04-07 | 1997-04-23 | Licentia Gmbh | Method of and apparatus for separately removing flat articles from a stack |
CN107914415B (en) * | 2017-12-08 | 2023-08-04 | 汕头市虹桥包装实业有限公司 | Sheet-like conveying object storage device capable of conveying stably |
Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP0081623A1 (en) * | 1981-12-16 | 1983-06-22 | The Ward Machinery Company | Feeding apparatus for paperboard sheets |
EP0183361A2 (en) * | 1984-11-23 | 1986-06-04 | Prime Technology Inc. | Improvements in or relating to apparatus and methods for feeding articles such as sheets or boards |
US4614335A (en) * | 1980-04-28 | 1986-09-30 | Wm. C. Staley Machinery Corporation | Intermittently protruding feeder for paperboard blanks |
Family Cites Families (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US1634072A (en) * | 1925-07-06 | 1927-06-28 | Specialty Automatic Machine Co | Flat-feed mechanism |
US4009876A (en) * | 1975-03-24 | 1977-03-01 | Uniplex, Inc. | Sheet feeding mechanism |
US4010944A (en) * | 1975-06-16 | 1977-03-08 | Koppers Company, Inc. | Blank feeding device having an adjustable and automatic positioning backstop means |
JPS6125340U (en) * | 1984-07-20 | 1986-02-15 | 三菱重工業株式会社 | Sheet feeding device |
-
1988
- 1988-01-19 GB GB888801100A patent/GB8801100D0/en active Pending
-
1989
- 1989-01-17 EP EP19890300390 patent/EP0325402A3/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1989-01-17 GB GB8900946A patent/GB2214169B/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1989-01-18 US US07/298,617 patent/US4981223A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Patent Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4614335A (en) * | 1980-04-28 | 1986-09-30 | Wm. C. Staley Machinery Corporation | Intermittently protruding feeder for paperboard blanks |
EP0081623A1 (en) * | 1981-12-16 | 1983-06-22 | The Ward Machinery Company | Feeding apparatus for paperboard sheets |
EP0183361A2 (en) * | 1984-11-23 | 1986-06-04 | Prime Technology Inc. | Improvements in or relating to apparatus and methods for feeding articles such as sheets or boards |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
CN108788884A (en) * | 2017-04-26 | 2018-11-13 | 豪迈股份公司 | Equipment for cutting workpiece |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
US4981223A (en) | 1991-01-01 |
EP0325402A3 (en) | 1991-01-09 |
GB8900946D0 (en) | 1989-03-08 |
GB2214169B (en) | 1991-11-13 |
GB8801100D0 (en) | 1988-02-17 |
GB2214169A (en) | 1989-08-31 |
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